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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28621911">Beginning of The End</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordy_little_witch_99/pseuds/Wordy_little_witch_99'>Wordy_little_witch_99</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Al almost dies, Alastor Has a Heart (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor Whump (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor isn't what he seems, Angel Dust Being Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Angels, Blood and Gore, Charlie might be onto something, Crew as Family, F/F, Fluff, Heaven &amp; Hell, Hurt/Comfort, Husk Has a Heart (Hazbin Hotel), Husk and Al have been dancing around each other for years, M/M, Multi, Nice Lucifer, Niffty is Husk and Al's unofficial daughter, Niffty is a killer and arsonist, Other, Polyamory, Tags to be announced as needed, chaggie, depictions of violence, nice Lilith, radiohuskerdust, war is brewing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:55:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,042</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28621911</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordy_little_witch_99/pseuds/Wordy_little_witch_99</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When two unexpected Angelic creature descend on Hell with the Extermination date still months away, chaos breaks out. Alastor is hurt in the fray, and the nature of this attack does not bode well for Heaven or Hell. Between looking after their resident deer and investigating the attack, the Happy Hotel is spread thin. New alliances bloom in unexpected places, and new enemies seem to fall from the woodwork. Even still, even in a situation steeped in blood and tension, love can blossom and connections can be made. Now if only they can survive the storm brewing on the horizon...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor/Angel Dust/Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor/Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust/Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne/Vaggie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>84</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They hadn't known it was coming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All the other extermination had been on a year cycle - once every 365 days in Hell. It helped with maintaining order, with measuring the passage of time. Their dark New Years. They still had time. They should have had more time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was a trip out to pick up supplies. They needed to get some groceries, and since Alastor did the majority of the cooking, he'd taken it upon himself to make the list, to plan the meals. Vaggie had gone along to keep an eye on him and to make sure he didn't pick up any meat of... questionable origins. Husk had wanted to restock the bar. Angel had wanted to pester Husk. Charlie had wanted to keep her patrons and partners in check.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They should have had time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had been in the heart of the city when the alarm went off, more than half of their list acquired. Angel and Husk had already headed back ahead of them. Charlie lost what little color remained in her alabaster face, eyes growing wide. Vaggie, without missing a beat, had pulled her spear from the holster on her back, grabbing her girlfriend by the forearm as her eye shot around, looking for a threat. "Oh dear," Alastor hummed, a thoughtful smile on his face. "Hand me the bags, darlings," there was a barely detectable urgency in his voice. "I'll lighten the load to get us home." .</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"A-Al, don't you have those shadows of yours," Charlie asked almost frantically. Previous experience had already crushed what little hope she had at saving her people, knowing full well that trying would only ensure her own death - something narrowly avoided twice before.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Not an option," he replied, "transporting non-living things is fine and dandy. But I can only carry one person through the Aether at a time over long distances, and I'm not sure I'd be able to get you both through quickly enough and far enough. We have to move."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Why not just one at a time, then-?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Vaggatha, even if I could manage that, both of you at once, it'll completely drain my magic and I'm not certain that you'd end up IN the hotel. You may well wind up halfway through a wall."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"... fine. Let's go."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Y-Yeah.. " Charlie chanced a glance around. She could feel... something a few miles away. The flash of light had her gripping the moth's hand tightly. "Let's move."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had made it maybe a mile, Alastor casting smaller spells to help with ducking into the shadows and keeping the girls in his line of sight. He was beginning to feel the drain, mentally cursing himself for having indulged this morning in some minor tricks to ease Niffty's job. The little darling hadn't slept in goodness knows how long, and so he'd splurged on giving the hotel a good top-to-bottom gutting and refinishing. His hands were now beginning to tremble, ears twitching at any sound.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He heard it before he saw it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Without thinking twice, he'd grabbed both of the women by their mouths, yanked them behind him, into the darkness. His clawed hands were replaced by his Shadow's, but Al still hissed an urgent, "stop moving-"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Something landed in the street before them. He felt Charlie go still, felt when Vaggie froze, mid-swing. It was unlike the other Exterminators they'd seen in the past. This one looked more... thrown together. Instead of the one eye, its entire upper head was emblazoned with a scarlet X, the mouth stretched too wide and too many teeth crammed into a mouth whose jaw was not formed quite right. The arms are spindly, disproportionately long, so much so that the backs of the hands dragged on the uneven cobblestone. The wings were sharp, looking more like bolted metal than feathers or anything organic. The skin, flushed an unusual violet, looked ill and puckered in the places that metal met flesh. Whatever this thing was, it was no longer an angel.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"<strong><em>Oh, where aaaare yoooouuuu</em></strong>," it hissed, "<em><strong>I can sssssmell your fear... sssssmell your skin, your blood....</strong></em>" it swiveled its head, seemingly blind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Alastor took a slow, silent breath. Then he dug his claws into his palm, let his magic release, and sent the two girls plummeting into the darkness that yawned open beneath them. The angel-like beast turned to him, neck cracking, and grin widening.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"<em><strong>Found you.</strong></em>"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The swirling mixes of acid green and violet were disorienting, the two lovers clinging to one another as they screamed, Vaggie’s eye open in horrified awe at the faceless forms that spun and swung around them like a vortex. The magic that opened the hole still wrapped around them, a scarlet glow about their bodies that kept the others in the space from touching them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> did he do,” the latina screeched, pulling her girlfriend tighter to her chest. Charlie was watching from beneath the loosened fringe of her hair, face slack.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He sent us away…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vaggie, he’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>with us.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Charlie-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie pulled free, wrapped one arm around Vaggie’s shoulders, and grabbed her cheek with the other hand. “He opened a portal, right as that… that thing showed up, and he shoved us in here. I-I don’t know how far we’re going, but-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-He said he couldn’t guarantee anything far, with both of us… Did he just-?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Throw us as far as he could to keep us safe? Yeah, I think he fucking did,” Charlie growled, “The second we get out, you’re going to the hotel. I’m going after Al.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like Hell you are, </span>
  <em>
    <span>princessa</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m not letting you put yourself in harm’s wa-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Vaggatha.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moth froze, eyes wide as she stared at the horns that CHarlie worked so hard to hide beneath her sunshine blond hair. Eyes like topaz swimming in seas of blood glared into the husk left of her damned soul, and not for the first time, Vaggie remembered exactly who it was she was involved with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I’ll get Husk and Angel,” the moth began shakily, “But I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> letting </span>
  <em>
    <span>either of you</span>
  </em>
  <span> risk your lives. I’ll go, but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will be coming back.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie’s shoulders slumped. “There’s no arguing with you, is there?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. It’s why you love me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiled tiredly, chastely pecking her lover on her plum painted lips. “Among other reasons,” she hedged playfully. There was a swooping sensation building in her stomach. “I think our stop’s coming up soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on tight, babe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Always.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The swirling, endless pit beneath them began fluctuating, pulsating and twirled open. With a graceless squawk,they tumbled to the cement of the street a few meters from the Hotel’s lawn. Charlie nodded resolutely, pulled her ribbon out and twisted her hair up, high off of her neck, tying it back in place. “The weapons cabinet is in our room-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Code is the anniversary of our first kiss, yeah?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie turned to her girlfriend, eyes softening. “Yeah. I’ll be back.” She turned her back, shrugged off her jacket and button up, leaving a dark gray tank top. Under different circumstances, Vaggie would have appreciated seeing her partner’s bare arms, thinly woven muscle visible beneath her soft skin. As it was, she pulled the blond into a quick kiss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll have Niffty get the infirmary ready. I have a bad feeling that we’re going to need it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not for the first time, a certain deer was cursing himself for having gotten affiliated with the damned rehabilitation center in the first place. Boredom be damned, they were making him </span>
  <em>
    <span>soft</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He’d hardly even spared a thought before sending the two ladies on a mad venture to the hotel. It was fortified enough that he knew they’d be safe, but the energy it had taken left him dizzy and feeling weak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not so weak as to be unable to dive out of the way of the incoming projectiles sent by the cyborg-angelic monstrosity, but still disgustingly feeble. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a dark grin, he twisted up onto his feet, momentum allowing him to spring back up and dive for cover in another alleyway. He may be outmatched in terms of magic vrs power right then, but he was by no means helpless. He knew his way around good old fashioned slaughter, messy though it tended to get. And he had no qualms about defending himself should the need arise. His nose twitched as he absently wiped a bead of blood from his cheek. Ruby and garnet eyes widening, he smiled deviously. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now there was an idea</span>
  </em>
  <span>…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>
    <em>I can smell you, you know</em>
  </b>
  <span>…” The guttural hiss of a beast echoed in the narrow space, steel grating on iron and Olde Tongues not meant to be heard. “</span>
  <b>
    <em>So sweet a smell</em>
  </b>
  <span>…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sightless head swiveled, sniffling at the air. Alastor slowly ripped off a piece of his coat, sharp claws making nary a sound. He squeezed it in his palm, dabbed as his face, and made sure to leave a strand of hair on the coarse scrap. Into the bundle went a stone, and then off it traveled down the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <b>
    <em>There you are</em>
  </b>
  <b>.</b>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Al plastered himself to the wall, nose wrinkling at the slimy feeling of it. The creature dove past him, missing him by a hair. He grit his teeth, knees locked and ears perked up from any auditory input. He heard the claws slice through the hair, the sound of a tussle anda scream from the other opening. Someone else had caught its eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He used that as a chance to dart from the alley, shedding his coat as he went. Best to give a little distraction than none at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unbeknownst to any involved in the mayhem below, one singular being lurked above, shrouded in a magic unknown to man or beast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The test run of his newest pets was going spectacularly, if he did say so himself. When he’d happened across the first set of angelic remains, he’d been flabbergasted. A demon, able to slay an angel? How absurd! How… delicious. The second set had proven quite a lucky haul in the remains of another Extermination some years ago. And his third? Oh, how darling she was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> He’d happened upon her before she’d had the chance to truly die, still aware, still fighting to make it, to continue. He’d enjoyed outfitting her with what she’d need to remain - but never more than what was necessary to stay conscious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Indeed, that little darling was still at home, in her little room, spitting and cursing enough to inevitably fall from her own Grace. Oh, how he awaited that day, so see her struggle and yearn and be denied. He wanted her broken. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But these two? So fascinating, the way they struck and hunted. One blind and one hardly able of complex thought, he’d crafted their brains himself, the soft tissues nearly gone by scavengers and cultists. They were truly the climax of his research thus far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a soft chuckle, he shifted, relaxing upon the chaise he was draped across, eager to see how the rest would unfold. This was peak, quality entertainment</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He hadn’t expected to be plucked off the ground like a child’s toy and slammed into a wall. The cement cracked and distorted with the force of it, a crater forming as black blood welled between his yellowed fangs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a different one, he noted. No less grotesque, but with a slack face, a single eye, unseeing and marble white. The other was a vacant cavity, spilling hot pink blood across the purple face. The wings of this one were more jagged, metallic feathers missing in great patches. It seemed hardly fit to fly - but the strength with which it held him in place implied that this wasn’t too much a hindrance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alastor grappled at the hand cutting off his airflow, head growing light and movements growing frantic. With a stroke of luck, his claws found purchase, and he managed to heave it just barely enough to get a good, deep breath before it tightened again. Reminded, darkly, of a rag doll he used to play with as a child, Alastor was lifted and flung roughly to another building, cringing as his skeletal system gave a hearty protest to the treatment. His vision was fuzzy when he managed to pry his eyes open, and it was to the visage of his shadow miming the motion of biting its nails, looking around frantically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alastor clumsily moved to pat it’s cheek-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And had to abort such movement in lieu of flipping out of the way of a bladed arm striking down where he’d been laying moments before. Head swimming, he squinted against the pounding in his head. He tried to come up with a safe way of dipping out of this situation, of avoiding the fight, cowardly though he felt it was. He was in no shape to tousle with either of the chimeras currently laying siege to their city. If he’d remembered to eat something while they were out, he might have been able to use his blood magic-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blood magic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He flexed his fingers. It was risky, and he wasn’t even entirely sure that he could do such a thing. It was the best idea he’d had up to that point, he figured. What was a little risk, in Hell? What did he even really have to lose? If all else failed, he could say it was for curiosity’s sake. And he was likely to not survive this </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyhow</span>
  </em>
  <span>. May as well go with style.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He twitched his fingers, his Shadow immediately perking up as he fed the information to them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The poor swath of darkness trembled, but nodded. It understood just as well as its master that such a thing was likely impossible. But what choice did they have?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so Alastor grabbed a rock, and with a sneer, threw it at the angel. It clattered against its head with a hollow echo, and drew its attention to him with immediate results.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon now, </span>
  <em>
    <span>bon rien</span>
  </em>
  <span>, wha’chu waitin’ fo’?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the precise moment the Angel went to dive, the Shadow lunged up and with a mighty twist managed to completely tear off one of the bolted wings. In the same moment, Alastor sprung forward, claws digging sharply into the other’s throat, heedless of any harm to his person with the adrenaline. Pink squirted everywhere, and with it, Al mustered as much intent as he could, and was shaken as the ground beneath them shook. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mind was growing hazy, and the limp body weighing him down, the growing pressure on his body making him become aware of the burning sensation in his abdomen and leg. He looked down and sneered at the shrapnel that dug into his thigh, pointedly not thinking about the rusted pipe currently jammed through his side. If he didn’t acknowledge it, it wasn’t a problem. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Such sentiments had gotten him this far, after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was… very tired after such a display. Very tired and famished. His body felt so thin, so weak, so frail… But he knew better than to taste the flesh of something even remotely heavenly. And so, with a lazy flick of his wrist, he began the arduous process of painting his sigils and </span>
  <em>
    <span>veves </span>
  </em>
  <span>onto the rubble below. He wasn’t risking astral travel with the stuff he’d just painted himself with, but some wards and avoidance charms… Just long enough for him to regain his strength, he told himself. His mind raced, head feeling too light with the blood loss. The likelihood of anyone finding him here was laughable. He had probably signed his own death certificate, he laughed to himself. He found himself thinking, then. Of Charlie and Vaggie, if they had gotten close enough to safety. He thought of Niffty, the poor little bug probably giving herself an ulcer with her fretting. He thought of Husk and Angel, of their late night talks and shared drinks. He thought of the lingering touches the two gave to one another, the way their eyes lingered on him, the courtesy and care they gave to him. They would be truly heartbroken if he were to die, he realized. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span><em>He </em>would be heartbroken to die here, to have never learned if the strawberry lip balm Angel used religiously really <em>did </em>taste as sweet as it smelled; to never learn if Husk tasted like the cigars he hoarded and smoked on special occassions; to never wake up in the morning sandwiched between two of the very few people the he truly and earnestly loved. He couldn't die without that. He <em>wouldn't, </em>he wouldn't <em>let himself... </em>No matter how much it hurt, how hard it was to breathe, how agonizing it was to move, he had to <em>survive... had to keep... keep breathing....</em></span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Alastor slumped over against a chunk of cement, wheezing breath coming in sporadic, bloodied bursts. He was unconscious before he had the chance to see his Shadow fret and dart from the relative safety of the cavern he’d sequestered himself into. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;&lt;&gt;</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlotte Magne hated having to drop her pretenses, but she was willing to do it for her friends. She still detested the blackened wings that grew from her spine, but they did come in handy for looking for people from above. She’d been at it for three hours now, and still no sign of her wayward benefactor. Vaggie had already called her twice, once to let her know they were on their way out, and the second to see if she’d gotten any leads. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So far, no dice. She saw the raid come to a close, one singular silver and violet creature shooting up into the sky and vanishing into the cloud cover above. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she glided to the marketplace they’d been in previously. The likelihood of Al having been able to teleport was laughable, so retracing their steps seemed the best bet to the princess. She hadn’t been able to find anything discerning on her first or second loop through, although she had been a bit distracted with making sure to stay out of sight. Now that the danger was likely over, she figured a bit more of an in depth search would give her the information she needed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And truly, she wasn’t wrong. It was difficult to discern whose blood was whose, she noted, smears and splatters painting the brick and mortar and cobblestone and cement. It was a multicolor murder scene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She happened upon the alley that they’d been tucked into just before Alastor had sent them reeling through the Aether. She blinked at the crater where the creature had touched down, narrowing her eyes. There were odd cracks in the ground, and with it, she could see that there was damage to the building opposite. Had it lunged?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Following through the assumption, she traced the carnage to the alley. It was filthy, but in there, she found a few denizens huddled together and trembling. She knelt down, fluttering her obsidian wings. Someone squeaked in fear, but Charlie still smiled. </span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“They should be gone now, I saw one fly off myself. Stay here and stay hidden until the safety signal is released. Have any of you seen Alastor? I lost track of him in the chaos,” she asked, for once forgoing the bubbly inflection of her voice. She spoke quietly but with an expectancy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“P-Princess,” a man piped up from the back, shifting to his knees. “I… wouldn’t hold hope for him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why is that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elderly fish demon shifted and lifted a familiar scarlet and vermillion coat. It was more tattered than usual, splattered with blood. “We found it here. If the Radio Demon were alright, he’d never have taken to removing his coat. Nobody has even seen him without it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Charlie wordlessly took the coat into her hands, somehow not trembling despite the anxiety and fear she felt clawing at her abdomen. “I see. Thank you for returning this.” She stood up, eyes dark and her smile falling away completely into a blank expression that sent chills down the clustered demons’ spines. “I’m going to find him. Stay safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without waiting for a response, she kicked herself into the air, wings beating furiously. She pulled out her phone, sent Vaggie a text, asking her to bring the boys over to meet her halfway to the hotel. Tying the coat around her waist, she told herself that the welling in her eyes was from the wind in her face.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Husk had known the fucker for decades. He’d wound up in Hell almost twenty years after Al had died, and immediately managed to find his way into the Radio Demon’s line of sight. He’d hated it, at first. And if asked now, he’d claim the same. But he’d grown to love the stupid redheaded fawn with a reckless streak worse than his own. This wasn’t the first hunt to find Al - or his body, if it were - but this was the first time Husk had been in a party of equally concerned persons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... Charlie found some demons near the market. Said they had Al’s coat. She wants us to loop back to the hotel and head up that way. Al probably would have tried to make it back there,” Vaggie informed them, looking at her phone. Her lavender hair had been pulled into a ponytail, armed with her spear, a few small handguns and a knife strapped to her left thigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Similarly outfitted, Angel was toting four tommyguns in just as many hands, his free two free to maneuver around. He, too, had elected to dress down, in shorts and his usual heels paired with a hoodie that Husk didn’t doubt for a second hid some more weaponry than even he could imagine. The spider was ex-mafia, afterall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He himself had barely listened after Vaggie had rushed in and commanded they get weapons, informed them that Al was out there  - </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone </span>
  </em>
  <span>- before he’d reached under the counter and grabbed his first aid kit. Previous experience lended to it attached to a loop that he could easily swing over his shoulder, long enough to not impede his wings. A shotgun, four knives and three smoke bombs later, he was stalking the streets with a hooker and the lover of Hell’s princess, looking for an overlord.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wished this was the hardest part, but he’d known Al long enough to know that the other never could half-ass something. Wherever he was, Husk had the feeling it was secluded, warded and probably more aptly called a tomb than a hiding spot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded to Vaggie, “I’m going to scout ahead, see if I catch a glimpse of anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Check back in fifteen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The buildings were barely held together the closer he got to the market. Almost like something had chased someone down from a point three miles ahead, before crashing into one of the places. Husk touched down, pawed feet spread as he crouched low. He shuffled his wings closer to his back, blending into the overhanging shadows as he krept along the destruction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was insane. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where were full chunks taken out of buildings, and a few stones were knocked loose, laying innocently on the ground. He thought he spotted a splash of black along the ground, but it was impossible to tell if it was from Al or some other black blooded devil in Hell. Husk knelt down, pulled out his walkie and paged Vaggie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Husk to Vags, five miles ahead, buildings in shambles. Found blood. Checking the surrounding- </span>
  <em>
    <span>whatthefuc</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He found himself flat on his face, walkie talkie smushed into his face as he hissed and spit, whipping around, claws at the ready - and froze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh son of a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>bitch</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Husk?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Get back to you,” he called back, sitting up and looking over the twitchy Shadow before him. It was favoring its left leg and had a hand over its side, phantom tears pouring from its eyes. Its face morphed into a twisted, soundless sob, shoulders shaking. This version of Al had always been more forthcoming with its emotions, like Al’s inner voice on steroids. Husk nodded, reaching out, combed his fingers through the other’s equivalent of hair. “Where’s he holed up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It grabbed his hand, pulling him along. Trusting it enough to lead him, Husk held up the walkie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got a lead, found his Shadow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s good, right?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s hurt, wherever the dumbass is. I’ll call back when I've got him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stay safe, Husky</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Angel's voice cut in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You, too, webs.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The crypt was a little hop, skip and jump, Husk learned. The further he went, the more black smears he saw along the debris. The Shadow was getting glitchier, its form having a difficult time holding steady in its turmoil. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s gonna be okay, bud, I’ll get him taken care… of…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His heart damn near stopped. The veves and sigil drawn around them were nothing new. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>pink wall, </span>
  </em>
  <span>however, was. Husk sneered, moved to press his hand to the bubblegum colored transparent wall in front of him and hissed as it stung his fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shit, fucking hell, what the fuck was he thinking, using Angel blood-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Shadow sank into the floor and slipped untouched into the bubble. It peeked up at him shyly, nodded once, and shot over to Al’s body. Husk was familiar with nausea, but he’d never seen Al so beat up, even after a nasty fight with Vox, even after Al had had that run-in with the other Alpha deer demons, not even when Al had tried to do a two week long broadcast and staggered his way, blooddrunk into Husk’s apartment at 3 am. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The shadow was trying to smudge the sigils, but it kept spitting and hissing soundlessly as it wouldn’t budge. Getting fed up between its failure and the helpless glances at its host, it grabbed a huge rock and slammed it into the drawings, one by one until the stone they were drawn on was damaged enough to bring the field down so Husk could run over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d already grabbed the kit and shifted it around, sending a voiceless ping to Vaggie’s walkie with his coordinates - new tech really was pretty cool, he could admit - before looking over his best friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have time to get emotional, he told himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gritting his teeth, he set to work. The main concerns were the</span>
  <em>
    <span> two fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>pieces of metal </span>
  <em>
    <span>impaling</span>
  </em>
  <span> the deer. First thing first, he had to be able to move him. The metal pole was broken enough in the front, he wasn’t going to worry about it much, right then. Turning to the Angel… thing… he tried to move it, only to find, of course, that part of its fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>arm</span>
  </em>
  <span> was imbedded in his friend. He rummaged for a moment, pulled out the blade Vaggie had thrown at him, and he began sawing at the arm in one of the few fleshy places he could find. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he called, “see if you can sever the back part of the pole, bud. I gotta move Al, the sooner we get him out of here and to the infirmary, the sooner we can get this shit fixed up.” His ear twitched at the sound of snapping. “What,” he snapped, glancing up. The black mass mimed pulling something from his leg and side. “No, if I do that, he’ll bleed out. And that means you’ll be out for a month while Al regenerates. Besides, this thing was an Angel, I think. No telling if he even </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> regenerate if he dies from these… Just break the fucking pole.” The shadow sank back down, so Husk turned back to the arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time he’d gotten it separated, he was splattered in pink and smelled like a cotton candy margarita. The second they got Al safely home, he was going to get absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>shitfaced</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The angel’s body was flung back to crumple on the rocks and debris. Husk didn’t spare it a second glance, balling up the gauze he had available, and surrounded each wound as best he could. An ace wrap was wrapped as tightly as he dared around the deer’s upper thigh, trying to at least slow the blood flow. The wound in his side got the gauze treatment as well, and Husk busied himself with checking the other’s smaller wounds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From what he could tell, there were a few broken bones, his right wrist and arm, some lacerations on his face and an ugly bruise peppered with cuts on his throat. He set to work, making splints for the arm and hand, growing more paranoid the more he touched the other and the longer the deer stayed silent. There was a pat to his thigh that had him jump and hiss involuntarily, just to see the Shadow lean its chin on his leg and give a tired thumbs up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“G-Good job, buddy. I’ve got him from here, you wanna crawl back in and rest?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It shook its head, wobbling as it pulled itself from the ground. Husk watched as his hands mimed the sign for ‘help’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. You can help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They managed to get Alastor bundled into Husk’s arms, wings splaying to help balance. The cat demon tried not to look too closely at Al’s face, at the blood staining his lips and chin. It was eerie to see the other without his signature smile. It took a bit longer than Husk would have liked, but they managed to shimmy out of the shambles that once was a building. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once back out on the cobblestone road, Husk’s fur bristled. Protectively, he shifted his wings as a shield to hide the body in his arms. Al wouldn’t want this on display.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nodded to the bag, and the shadow reached in, grabbed the walkie. “Button on the left, press and hold. Let me talk.” It followed instructions promptly. “Husk to Vags, I got him. Heading to the hotel, call Charlie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How is he?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Husk looked at the body in his arms. “He’s… alive.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>... Got it. Angel’s calling Charlie now. Be there soon.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a deep breath. This was not okay. Not even remotely.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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